What REAL Friendship Looks Like

Friends are supposed to be the people you do life with and run this race alongside. They’re the people responsible for building you up and pointing you back to God every single time.

If you’ve had friends like this your entire life, then you’re one of the few. Most of us have had friends that have torn us down, led into temptation, and more. I wanted to share with you what the Bible says about REAL friendship, because when you find it, you’ll want to hold on to it.

Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Are your friends reliable? Are they there for you in times of trouble or to lend a hand when you need one? Reliability and trust are two of the most important things in a relationship. If there is no dependence, then friendship has nothing to be built on.

Any relationship, whether that be a romantic relationship, a friendship, a family relationship, etc., has to have trust. With trust, we are able to confide in one another and seek advice, guidance, or simply a listening ear. This is a test of true friendship, once you know you can trust them with your deepest fears, secrets, worries, and hopes.

Real friends also help you endure burdens. Ecclesiastes 4:10 says, “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”We should make it a conscious effort to find the people that do just that: helpus. You’ll never notice the importance in this until you find the friends that genuinely have the desire to help you through trials, mistakes, and the harder seasons of life.

I know it may seem harsh to leave behind the “friends” that bring you down, but it’s okay to put yourself first when it comes to personal growth and happiness.

Lastly, real friends help you love and pursue the Lord.

Psalm 1:1,3 says, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers… that person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers.”

We should run our lives with those running the same race as us. It is so much harder to pursue a Christ-like life when the people we surround ourselves with are doing the opposite. Surrounding yourself with good company is just like what the verse says: a tree that will not wither and bears good fruit!

I pray that you find real friendship throughout your life and that you build one another up, just as the Bible tells us to do. I encourage you to pray for these friends, and God will surely bring them into your life!